The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
As is known to all, the use of a high-voltage high current electrical connector assembly is becoming increasingly popular nowadays, and is especially more indispensable in new energy electric vehicles. However, if a power supply terminal of a plug and receptacle is suddenly separated by an operator when transmitting a high-voltage high current, a high-voltage arc can be very easily generated at the tail end of the terminal, and can burn out other electronic components and even cause an electric shock to the operator, resulting in potential safety hazards of the use of an electronic device. In order to solve this problem, an electrical connector assembly has been invented based on power cut before separation to avoid the high-voltage arc. For example, the Chinese Patent No. CN200980130884.X discloses a high current electrical connector assembly, which includes a connector and a corresponding mating connector. The connector includes an actuating arm hinged on a shell of the connector. A front end of the actuating arm has a locking surface, and both sides of the locking surface respectively extend to form two guiding members. A back end of the actuating arm has a ribbed surface. Once the ribbed surface is pressed down, the front end of the actuating arm will move upward. A shell of the mating connector is protrudingly provided with a first locking nose and a second locking nose which are separate in a front-rear direction. The shell of the connector is also provided with a guiding mechanism which is symmetrically provided in a left-right direction. The first locking nose interacts with the locking surface so as to lock the connector and the mating connector to a first locking position. At this time, the connector is completely inserted into the mating connector, the connector is connected with a power supply terminal in the mating connector, and a signal terminal is connected. When an operator presses down the actuating arm on the ribbed surface, the locking surface moves upward to be above the first locking nose, and the connector and the mating connector are unlocked. When the operator continues to pull the connector back, the guiding members will contact an inclined surface of the guiding mechanism, and the guiding mechanism presses the guiding members downward, such that the locking surface automatically contacts the second locking nose. At this time, the second locking nose interacts with the locking surface so as to lock the connector and the mating connector to a second locking position, and the connector is connected with the power supply terminal of the mating connector, but the signal terminal is disconnected. When the signal terminal is disconnected, the control equipment receives a system power cut command so as to cut off power of the power supply terminal. Furthermore, the ribbed surface is pressed, and the locking surface moves upward to be above the second locking nose, such that the connector can be completely drawn out of the mating connector, thereby cutting off a signal and main circuit current in different stages, and avoiding the generation of high-voltage arc.
In a separation process of the connector and the mating connector, the stroke length of the connector is limited, and the separation speed of the connector and the mating connector is faster. However, after the second locking nose is separated from the locking surface, the connector and the mating connector can be quickly separated. Therefore, it must be required that the control equipment should receive the signal terminal power-cut information and control the power cut of the power supply terminal while the second locking nose is being stopped to the locking surface. As a result, it is inevitable that a control device will work unstably due to over-short reaction time, so it is impossible to ensure a power cut before the connector is separated from the power supply terminal of the mating connector every time the connector is separated from the mating connector, thereby causing a risk of the generation of the high-voltage arc when the connector is separated from the power supply terminal of the mating connector.
Therefore, a heretofore unaddressed need to design an improved electrical connector assembly exists in the art to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies.